2013-01-21 - The Aliens, the Assassin, and the Clown
A (probably) mildly annoyed Power Girl has been probably doing research on a girl who was able to touch her and make her feel it. ... Not in that kinda way! Upon Kon hearing of Power Girl's general description, and 'annoying asian girl' thrown in, a rather simple connection would be established, and on flight over to Gotham later.. Batgirl is on her late night patrol, going from rooftop to rooftop, and an easy location with X-Ray vision.A (probably) mildly annoyed Power Girl has been probably doing research on a girl who was able to touch her and make her feel it. "Its a body language thing," Superboy explains, in they sky in full costume. "She knows what you're going to do about as soon as you do. First time I met her she got right past my fields. It was weird. You say she actually got through through? I mean, generally if I know it's coming, which is a bigger if than you'd expect for someone without super-speed, I can block her." Power Girl flies along side Superboy, keeping a lazy pace beside the teenager that is her relative. Though you would have to use a scientific calculator to figure out how distant that relation is. "I didn't know it was coming. She tried to karate chop me and I just let her. Of course I wasn't expecting the squirt to be able to bypass my invulnerability. It didn't hurt, but it still shocked me enough. So. Is she a cape or not?" Cassandra Cain glances up and over at the sky, in her own regalia. Kryptonians, in Gotham in numbers? Is there some sort of crisis amiss over that she's not aware of? She goes over to bring up the PDA from Oracle then, scanning the colors that Barbara has setup for the girl who has issues reading to make 'bad things' stand out, and sees none. "Would we be here if she wasn't?" Superboy points out, scanning the rooftops below. He hears the beeping of a PDA, and--ah, there she is. He changes course, flying towards where he just caught glimpse of the light of a device. "Okay, seriously, I've been friends with Robin for years and your costume is still a complete pain to pick out," he complains to Batgirl. Power Girl lands behind Superboy. She blinks twice in surprise as she studies the costume, "She's a Batgirl? Seriously?" PG laughs softly, folding arms over her broad chest, "Well. That makes complete sense actually. Plus this costume is much better than any of the others I've seen. Kudos on that, squirt." Cassandra Cain glances over at Kon-El and glowers over at him. Then over at POwer Girl. Despite the fact her mask and bodysuit has a very thin layering of lead about it to prevent use of X-Ray vision, it's still clearly the same girl. She gestured over at Kon-El then, inquiring as to why the two are here. "I don't like it covering the full face," Conner remarks. "I mean, great for secret identity and all, but it's a pain to figure out her expression at night, and considering she's Miss Body Language, it almost seems unfair." Cassandra's glower gets a look of 'What' from him. "She was visited, started complaining about you, figured I'd introduce you. Don't tell me you're taking after him and doing the entire 'My city' thing. Seriously, No Man's Land? Didn't want to call in the reinforcements then? Wouldn't even let Rob help out, drove him nuts." Power Girl studies Batgirl further, making the all observant remark of, "She's mute." Tilts her head to one side, a little smile playing along her lips, "Well. That makes sense now." Blue eyes flick to Superboy, then back to Batgirl, "I prank call Batman at his Batcave all the time. He's threatened me with bodily harm, a lot. Still do it." Cassandra Cain continues to have her head cocked over at that half annoyed angle. Even though ti doesn't show. If she were anyone else but herself,her foot might be tapping over in irritation. Instead, she just stands there, staring at the duo, arms crossed. What they doing here? "Close to it," Conner says to Karen, landing on Batgirl's rooftop, immediately doing a fairly good job of hiding, at least from the street below. He hasn't been friends with Robin for this long for nothing. "Visit," he says to Batgirl, sounding it out. "Friend," he says, smirking a bit towards the black masked figure. "Worried we're going to mess with your entire 'superstitious and cowardly lot' deal?" Power Girl just stands there, tall and proud. Power Girl doesn't do things like low key or hiding . "I think she understands us just fine, Superboy. No need to be a prick about it." She steps up to the girl, holding a gloved hand out to the female caped crusader, "Thank you again for the help the other night, Batgirl." Cassandra Cain glances over at Power Girl. Hans't the girl heard of concept called 'subtlety'? Inwardly, Cassandra sighs. No one has any sanity outside of Gotham. It's sad, really. She pokes her fingers over at Kon then, finally speaking, "Nothing bad?" Is happening? She's just confirming it. The fact 'The Bat' isn't here means he's not considering this an intrusion of his territory. And that Barbara isn't squawking on the commlink means nothing big is up. Power Girl glares at Batgirl, "What the hell is it with you Bats that you can't shake hands? Is it a union rule or something?" She puts both hands on her hips and turns to regard Superboy, "I think she's worried that since two Kryptonians showed up there is something truly awful going down." A frown touches her glare, softening, "Makes sense, I suppose." "The way I understand it... she sorta does, sorta doesn't, and she generally lets me know when I'm annoying her," Conner says with a grin, and then Cassandra asks her question and understanding dawns. "Oh!" he says, shaking his head. "No, everything's fine," he says warmly. "It's a social visit." He glances to Power Girl's offered hand. "Don't take it personally, she..." he frowns, and holds up his arm to Cassandra, bicep flexed and fist clenched, a greeting he's seen Cassandra use. Cassandra Cain sighs over, or so her inexpressive body language might read through the mask, and she repeats the gesture over then to both of them. Fiiiinnnee. There seems to be nothing on the agenda tonight of any priority. She gestures at the two, "Help patrol." Then points over at Kara, "Keep clothes on." Power Girl doesn't seem to take the last comment as an insult. Instead she gives a broad grin and peers at Batgirl curiously, "Why? Afraid you'll be distracted with desire and jealousy? I know I'm awesome, but please, try to control yourself, squirt." Superboy just looks confused by that, and looks between the two. "Did something happen when you two met up last?" she wonders. A passing thought hits him. "This is Power Girl, by the way, you might be thinking Starfire," he says to Cassandra, patting her shoulder gently, closing up his black jacket to break up the primary colors a bit. Cassandra Cain jerks her thumb over at Power Girl, "Not want arrested." For indecent exposure. If there's one thing that the local cops probably -would- try and book, it would be that on her. She gestures over at the two, "Follow." With that, she goes to leap over the side of the building, firing her grapple gun. Power Girl looks down at herself, then at Superboy, "I wear more than Supergirl does." She shrugs broad shoulders and follows after Batgirl, keeping pace easily with the line swinging woman. "I'm seriously curious, did you pick up a reputation as an exhibitionist when I wasn't paying attention?" Superboy asks Power Girl, the conversational volume rather ruining the stealth thing, but... well, in primary colored costumes in a town with a pallet of varying shades of brown and grey, they aren't exactly blending in in the first place. If she were actually expecting anything remotely serious, she would have sent the duo off and if they didn't budge she'd have had someone else harrangue them. But it's a quiet night, so a 'show the flag' works, in Cassandra's mind. It can't hurt to mess with the minds of the locals and get them to think that the Kryptonians pop in on occasion. Then, as Kon shoots out his comment, she looks behind her back, and quirks her head, "She's not?" Power Girl laughs a little, shaking her head at the remarks, "People, seriously. Since when have I been ashamed about my body? I'm not Starfire, but I'm comfortable in my own skin. I'm well aware of my figure and of my looks. It's another power, just like super speed or strength. One that has to be used carefully." She smirks, "Besides. When anyone makes comments about my attributes its best to flaunt, puts them off their game. Psychological warfare. Batman approves." Superboy rolls his eyes at Batgirl. "Is it because of the window?" he wonders. "I know heroines that cover a LOT less." He turns to Karen at her explanation. "Yeah, but nothing that you have to be warned to keep your clothes on," he remarks. He's pretty certain a naked Power Girl saving the day anywhere would have made the news. Of all the shockers, Cassandra is still somewhat conservative. And with outfits propensity to get torn, blasted, and such.. She shrugs her shoulders over as she lands on another building, scanning the area, head cocked and ignores the question. "See anything?" She tunes into the police network just to check, though Oracle's automated system would have flashed an alert of anything significant. Power Girl turns in midair, flying backwards to regard Superboy, "My comic books have my secret identity as a stripper. I blame that more than anything for my sullied reputation. I don't need to be reminded to keep my clothes on. But I hate it when someone tells me what to do. Even when its someone telling me not to strip. Issues with authority figures. Lets go with that." PG floats in the air beside Batgirl, legs crossed indian style. "Long as you don't strip just to be contrary," Conner remarks, and watches Batgirl for a few moments. "I didn't even know Gotham had quiet nights." Any particular bite-back Cassandra might make is interrupted by a sudden buzzing of her PDA. Like the 'bad beep' when you're on the bridge of the Enterprise, her eyes flash as she draws it out, stopping her twist in midair to fire out another line as she draws out and looks at it. It falshes red, flickering in emergency with a location coming up. Right then, the sound of sirens off in the distance would be heard, and a cackling voice rising up through the air that's all too twisted, warped, and traumatically /familiar/, whether from this universe or the last. Power Girl closes her eyes, hearing that voice way better due to her senses, "Not him... I'd rather go face to face with Darksied. Under a red sun. Chewing on Kryptonite bubble gum." Despite her complaint she follows after Batgirl, keeping pace with her instead of rushing ahead for once. "Be careful, last time we ran into him, he poisoned one of his own men as a distraction," Superboy says, changing his angle. While Batgirl swings from the rooftops, he flies in fast and low, just high enough to not disturb those on the street unless they just happen to look up. As the trio head in towards the scene, they see the self-styled Clown Prince, cackling, "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Why, what have we here but a pair of brats and someone who shouldn't be out of her ninja diapers unsupervised?" The Joker was accompanied by a half dozen of his goons wearing their more standard 'getup', and with traditional weapons. Also, floating in the air above the group were a half dozen balloons. "You're not Bats, you're all brats, but I suppose you'll have to do." Power Girl is usually the one that charges right into battle. But the Joker requires, demands, a different approach. So she actually hangs back, using her x-ray vision to examine the balloons, then swinging her gaze to encompass the goons and the Joker himself. The fact that the Joker wasn't running for cover upon spotting TWO Kryptonians sets all sorts of warning bells off. Superboy stops, taking a look of his own around. The jacket is opened, flashing the eye-catching S-shield and, blurring to the eye, he moves in, field up as he goes straight for Joker himself. Even for him, it's brash, reckless, straightforward and--well, distracting. Power Girl's X-Ray vision would scope out the interiors of the balloons. Each of which held two people wtihin. Withina mixture of oxygen, sarin gas, and helium to keep them afloat. The noxious, poisonous mixture barely balanced out by the gasses to avoid immediate death. To which the Joker, as Superboy charged him, "Ah Ah Ah my boy!" Superboy smashing him, "Within those things, I asked myself.. Is it wrong to crib? To steal from the crib?" Joker would be easily bludgeoned at close range, not quite unconscious, his guns all whipping around their guns to point at Superboy as Batgirl held out a pair of razorrangs. "So, I have to think that MIke Myers was onto something. Baby backed ribs.. After all, all the jokesters occasionally borrow a routine and make it their own. So, here's the pun. In each balloon is a concoction of some rather nasty things! If you, say, try to pop them, PSHEW! if you try to yank them away, at, say, super speed, PSHEW!" Power Girl grins suddenly at the balloons, "That's a devious trick, Joker. Very ruthless, cunning, almost flawless. One problem. You're not dealing with Batgirl or even Batman. You're dealing with a Kryptonian and we are very tricksy." Power Girl proceeds to do exactly what the Joker says not to do. Each balloon is ripped open, the occupants spirited away to nearby roof. Once there she makes sure they are unconcious, giving them a light tap if they aren't so they don't panic. She has all the balloons open and the captives on the roof within a dozen seconds. She takes a few steps back from the group and gently uses her freezing breath, watching them with her x-ray vision, bringing them to a point where their hearts beat just faintly, a jury-rigged cryogenic sleep. "And if I'm a telekinetic capable of extending a pressurized, air-tight field around anything I touch, including, say, a balloon with a slow leak?" Superboy asks, hoping the goons keep following the man paying them. And he's flying towards the sirens, Joker dangling, unceremoniously, from his ankle. There's a wicked grin the JOker, "OH, if you don't want to play by the rules, then I suppose sometime else I'll have to play you as fools." The Joker was unceremoniously picked up by Superboy, dangling then out of midair, even as the rest of his men were quickly neutralized. It all seemed.. Too easy.. As Gotham Swat vehicles drove up. The normal heavy cavalry when dealing with the Clown. Dangling, the clown gave what would be a mocking, sweeping gesture over at Batgirl. Who.. Seized up. Like a statue. Power Girl glances towards the sirens approaching. Picking out the ones that are the ambulances. She leaves with breath taking speed and returns in under a minute, carrying two of the vehicles, each propped up on a broad shoulder. PG sets them one at a time on the roof in different spots, making sure the structure can handle it and dispersing the tons of weight. When the paramedics hop out of the vans, they look at the people laying there, then at PG questioningly, "Sarin gas poisoning. I've put them close to a cryogenic suspension to slow the toxin way down. You guys have stuff for Sarin Gas?" The oldest paramedic snorts, "Shoot yeah. We got stuff for alien diseases too!" With that they get to work, the Kryptonian standing back to let them work. Conner glances back, spotting Batgirl as she seizes. Blue eyes flash angry, and Joker finds his pockets rather abruptly and forcibly emptied, the contents literally flying away from the clown prince of crime, scattering on the street below Superboy flies in low, bleeding off enough speed that, when he releases Joker, rather than smearing across the street, or tumbling into the front bumper of the oncoming SWAT cars, he simply gets a rather nasty case of road rash and comes to a stop with enough room for the SWAT team to stop without hitting him, and a city block or two between him and what had previously been in his pockets. He turns, and then really piles on the speed, back over by the frozen Cassandra in an instant, franticly trying to get some reaction out of her. Batgirl shakes and spasms, finally speaking then as Conner shakes her, "Wrong. So.. Wrong." His body language. To her, body language is is literally a way of life. It lets her literally see almost down to someone's core, their soul. To have looked into Joker's very essence itself, and seen such raw madness, to have seen it unfiltered, shot down.. Behind her mask, she is pale. Having to force the bile down her throat. From her fear. She does not like it. It scares her. The Joker and his goons are loaded up and over into the Paddy Wagon under Power Girl's supervision, her audibly picking up the -very- painful promises that the officers are promising the Clown, who is grinning merrily, "All for the show. After all, what is love without a bit of war?" Grinning as he was sadistically tossed into it, like they were readying a prisoner to send to the Phantom Zone, taking no chances as the heavy, bulked out SWAT Van drove away, the ambulances quickly treating the captives. Power Girl flies back up to the roof, taking the stabilized citizens down to the ambulances on the ground, finishing her work by actually bringing the ambulances she had put on the roof back on the road. The paramedics nod grimly to PG, the oldest one shaking her hand, "That was good thinking, freezing them. Even the knocking them out bit was a good one. Not many people can knock someone out just right so that it doesn't hurt them. Still, expect them to be pissed when they find out. You just let me know if they try to sue ya PeeGee, I'll smack 'em around for ya." PG beams at the praise and laughs at his offer, "I appreciate that. Might take you up on it. Drive safe, Ronald." She turns and floats over to Superboy and Batgirl, having heard everything they were talking about. You don't need Batgirl's insight into body language to see Superboy's relief. He lets out a breath. He pulls Batgirl in for a brief squeeze of a hug, giving her one of those manly back-pats as he releases it. "You need to go home?" he asks her, watching her very carefully, having to pay attention to what her body's doing, her face hidden entirely by the mask, and Paranoid Mr. Bat appears to keep X-ray vision in mind when designing the suits. Cassandra Cain shakes head at Kon. For once, there is relief over in her face. He doesn't need to see underneath her mask to tell that. And, perhaps a bit of jealousy as well. "Can.. Manage." She takes a deep breath, and stands up, focusing. "Need finish patrol." And tell Barbara. Power Girl glances between the two, staying off to the side. Though she offers a comforting smile whenever Batgirl looks her way. "You sure?" Superboy asks, leaning back and to the side a bit to get a good look at the shorter girl's face, the light of the sirens giving him a better idea of the contours than he'd normally have. He glances towards Peeg, giving her a nod of approval before returning his attention to the traumatized girl. Cassandra Cain nods over, "Will be fine." She has her dignity, after all. And she still has to finish her patrol. There's something tugging at the edge of her consciousness, though. Despite all her confusion and hcaos as she stands up. Power Girl nudges Superboy, "Let her walk it off, Little S. Some things you have to get straight on your own." She turns her gaze on Batgirl and nods, "Good job, again. Six men armed with guns. We can wade into it knowing it won't hurt us. But it takes a lot of courage to fight when you CAN be shot." Superboy gives a nod to Cassandra, and then to Power Girl, taking a step back. "From what I hear, she's got no shortage of that." Cassandra Cain takes the moment to leap over and off the side of the building, shooting out her grappler gun and bolting through the air, to continue on her patrol. In her heart having a feeling.. Power Girl folds her arms over her chest and glances at Superboy, "We've kicked the Joker's ass twice now. We probably should start watching our back." She floats up into the air, "By the way. It's great to have freezing breath. Don't you ag-... Oh. Right. You don't. Ooooo. That just sucks for you!" PG laughs merrily. Superboy looks to Peeg. "We should probably get going. I've got a 9 o clock class. And /you've/ kicked his tail twice. I've only done it the once. Last time I was occupied trying to save his henchmen." He floats up into the air. "And which one of us can entirely disarm someone known for surprises by grabbing their ankle?" he asks, smirking a bit before taking off back towards New York. Power Girl takes off after Superboy, "Yeah. But... Aw crap. I better warn Pete Wisdom about this. That's something the Joker would do to get at me." She sighs, maybe she should have stayed in New York and went to see a movie. "Pete?" Conner asks, not bothering with supersonic for such a short trip. "Grumpy british guy why would-- Wait, you're dating Pete? Pete Wisdom? Grumpy guy, really paranoid about Kryptonians?" Power Girl rolls her eyes, "Do you not watch TV, read the paper, or check the internet? There is pictures of me at his house, there are pictures of me leaning over his hospital bed, kissing him. There are pictures of him and I at a mexican restaurant in Texas for Wally's sake. Hell, people are taking bets on how long it'll take before I accidentally break him!" She sighs loudly, "You're hopeless." "I don't pay attention to the tabloids," Conner says, chuckling. "Seriously though, Pete..." He laughs a bit. "I guess he makes exceptions for attractive blondes." He smirks. "Geeze, I'm not sure who to give the harder time about this. Ask him about the time we saved Christmas." Power Girl frowns, "The time we saved Christmas? What? Fine.. Fine. I'll do that." She starts to pick up speed, outpacing Superboy, "I'm THE attractive blonde, by the way, Superbrat." With that she takes to supersonic, turns suddenly and flashes past Superboy, heading the other way.